PQ Team #29 - Number Twenty Nine

On the road again..

team-admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:21:02 +0000

Ok, team 29 has pushed through another TA and is back on their bikes cruisin’ toward Bear Lake cp and the next TA. PQHQ has given us a new cutoff time - through the ropes section by 9:00am tomorrow morning. That’s going to be tough. We’ve heard the ropes section is taking teams up to 10 hours to complete…and I think it’s more free climbing than ropes section. Anyway, we’re all just trying to focus on one CP/TA at a time. Last night’s trek really took it out of them. They’re better and coherent this morning after 2 good hours of sleep, but it’s taking us longer to get ready as I had to work on everyone’s feet this morning. Nothing horrible, just normal wear, tear, and blisters. Nothing like the entire foot pad sloughing off as I read about! We’re all exhausted and digging deep at this point - all of your comments made me cry this morning…it’s so emotional and exhausting (that’s the main problem) - but if they can fight on - so can we. I think I’ve had about 5 hours of sleep in the last 3 days. We’re headed to storm castle TA next and there will not be coverage there. I will try where ever we end up, but if you don’t hear from me - don’t worry about us, just keep following the team and sending comments - it’s really getting them through, it means so much to them. If they don’t make it through the ropes course by 9:00am tomorrow they will be short coursed, skip the 35 mile trek, and we will drive them to Ennis Lake TA so they can bike their way to the finish line. I can’t believe they’ve come this far…so many have not…and I feel so badly for them. Ok, time to shower, dump the tanks in the motorhome, and refill with water. All of you take care and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Chad…all has been covered and I’d never share my trophy with Jason

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Made it in - less than 24 hours

team-admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:21:13 +0000

The team made it in this morning around 4:00am. They were dragging butt - but walking without limps. I think this is the least talkative Mary has been at any TA. John is absolutely exhausted and after eating and showering was asleep before anyone else got off of their chairs. Bobby is sleeping with bags of ice taped onto both of his knees and feet. Jason grabbed the wrong size shoe when they took off (the further you go in a race, the bigger your feet get so many racers have more than 1 size of the same shoe) but he does not have blisters. All feet look very well - will definitely have to do some maintenance when they get up. They said they saw some amazing things, but didn’t elaborate - they’re pretty much spent - so hopefully a large dose of pasta and 2 hours sleep will give them enough to get to the next TA. It’s a beautiful sunrise…we are on the southwest side of the Bridger Mountains and as the sun is coming up on the other side, the clouds floating above the mountains are pink to orange - a beautiful Montana morning!

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Luke, the little support crew that could

team-admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:14:33 +0000

Luke is Mary’s nephew and has been supporting her and her teammates this entire team as well as traveling around the wilds of Montana. He’s been a fantastic help to Eric and I. He pitches right in when asked and even when not asked (pretty special considering he’s headed to those teen years). His favorite part of his trip thus far has been seeing the spectacular mountains all around us. He’s seen deer and prairie dogs - I think uncle Eric needs to drive back home via Yellowstone National Park so he can add bison, elk, and moose to his list. He’s loved being part of the action - even if his sleep schedule is non existent. He also quickly became a favorite of my 3 yr. old Delaney - they collected rocks together, ate mac and cheese, and then got to watch cartoons - a natural babysitter. I think he’s missing his little brother Toby - don’t worry Toby he’ll be home soon. Eileen and Marty - you have a very special son!

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Back atcha

team-admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:03:35 +0000

I must give a quick shout out back to all of you Michigan supporters - you’re making me cry with all of the support, love, and inspiration that you are sending to Jason, John, Bobby, and Mary (I’m crying at just about everything now because I’m so exhausted - especially when my team comes in) :). You guys are awesome!

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At the lake

team-admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:19:56 +0000

Well, we’re finally at a not quite so remote TA - it’s a park with a beach and lake. Perfect for today - it’s scorching hot, but no humidity so the shade is nice and cool. There are a lot of non PQ people here - a nice little break, but I was getting used to our traveling hippie commune. :) Just a quick note - don’t worry if you see them off of the ridge - they were told that they could hike on the lower trail - probably cooler out of the brutal sun, but many more elevation changes. The next TA we head to (12/13) is the same is TA4 - Storm Castle. I know we won’t have coverage there, so be patient and keep watching the website. I hope we’ll have coverage at Ennis Lake, but I’m not sure. The next stop will be the finish line at Big Sky. Ok, it’s hot, I’ve been invited over to team #49s support area for a beverage. For those of you from Chi-town that know, this is Michael’s team. About the hippie commune…people have been so wonderful. I have met the coolest people here - so nice, helpful, supportive of each other, and very interesting in their own right. I brought 5 books with me to read…I’m on page 29 of the first book…too many people to meet and sites to see. I’ll update again when we get the team out of here. Bobby’s parents are coming up tonight to hang out with us to cheer the team on. I think it will be a great moral boost!

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Time constraints

team-admin — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:37:42 +0000

Ok, after three more hoursof sleep, this post should be a bit more coherent. The time cut-off for this TA is noon today, so they made it with much time to spare, and if you track them you can see they are making incredible time along the top of the ridge. We can see the top from here and are hoping to see some specks up there. We could see headlamps up there last night - along with a billion stars - awesome! Their next cut-off will be to make it to the climbing course by 6:00am Tuesday. If they can keep moving like they are, I think they’ll make it - then the finish line by either 10am or 3pm on Wed. - have heard conflicting information. After this trek they have another bike - 54 miles or so into some mountains and the last 3 miles are very rocky so I’ve heard. Have heard a team saw a grizzly sow and 2 cubs up on the trail last night. Eric and Luke headed to a hotel to spend the night (morning) so Luke can go swimming. It’s supposed to be in the 90s the rest of the week - at least it cools down at night and there is no humidity. I’ve had a chance to see my family (Mom, dad, and 3yr old, Delaney) here and there. We went to the Museum of the Rockies yesterday and they followed me out to this TA to cheer our team on and spend the night. It’s nice to have support for the support crew. Plus they’re also our extra storage space for gear that isn’t mandatory or necessary any more. Another wag bag story…after leaving the TA on bikes yesterday, apparently John had a bit of an intestinal issue. Now picture just rolling fields of grass with miles of dirt roads and the ability to see forever…John pulled off a triple play - they had to stop 3 times and John had to get down in the ditch…can you as a driver imagine seeing a white bike helmet peeking out from the ditch with someone squatted down with a bag taped to their fanny? Oh the sights we see in Montana and Primal Quest…where was the photographer when we needed him? Maybe Bobby got it on their go-pro camera - that could be the winning video. They got to take a camera with them that does video or photos. The videos will be posted on youtube.com, in fact I think some have been posted already. The team that gets the most hits on their video wins some kind of camera package - so be looking for team 29s videos and tell all your fans to do the same! Off to see the lizard…

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Trekking the Bridgers

team-admin — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:10:35 +0000

It’s 6:00am and our team has been gone for about an hour and a half. They arrived here at TA10 about…I don’t know…11:30pm or so, I think. The 80 mile bike ride was grueling. John popped two tires, Mary had to lead the 3 guys down the gravel hills at night while they were pretty much sleep biking, and they felt they were on the road that would never end. Needless to say they are using all kinds of butt ointment - you can imagine the comments. They are happy to be trekking again. They ate their pizza, quickly changed into comfy clothes, had a few laughs and stories to tell, then off to bed. I got up at 2:30am made french toast and bacon and gently woke the team. They all wake up pretty well, except Bobby sits bolt upright so quickly it scares me to death. Now I’m waiting for the sun to rise over the Bridger Mountains - but on only one and a half hours sleep, I’m falling asleep as I sit here….more late.

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Sorry for the long delay…

team-admin — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:45:28 +0000

Hello All - it’s GREAT for not only the team but also for us support to hear from so many of you. The team loves all of the posts! Please keep it up.

Now for the long over do update. They cruised on their bikes from TA5 Carbella to TA7 at Otter Creek. They crashed there for a couple of hours - they got the motorhome, Eric and Mary in their car, and I slept outside - it was fabulous! I woke them up at 2:30am fixed them some coffee and off they went (they had already filled up when they had arrived 2 hours before). They had an incredible bike through some tough dirt roads with huge rocks - but gorgeous. They dropped their bikes and headed off for a 30 mile trek. The guys that were manning the check point had seen 5 bears in 2 days! I was hoping our team would be so lucky - they weren’t - didn’t even see a squirrel. The “back breaker” as John called it took them approx. 28 hours. They did sleep up at check point 17 as many of you know. They did some amazing things. They had to cross a number of talus fields while heading up and over the ridge. Mary said it was the scariest thing she’s ever done and Bobby helped her step by step. They also crossed many freezing streams. Other teams had reported seeing an avalanche down the opposite side of the mountain - glad it wasn’t in the path of the teams. Our team finally came WALKING, not limping, in at 9:30am this morning. They were in fantastic shape. We retaped Mary’s feet in a couple of places and everyone else’s feet are looking great! They filled up on pancake pigs in a blanket, chef boyardee pasta, and Jason added 2 bowls of oatmeal (so, Michigan supporters, I’m feeding him well!). They also had coffee, water, and gatorade. Tonight’s dinner is pizza - special request from the team. Eric found a pizza place that has Chicago style pizza so he brought that - I know they’re pedaling hard for that reward. When they left for their bike they were in great spirits and feeling good. 14 team have now withdrawn or gone unranked (one team member had to quit) - I can’t even begin to tell you all how proud I am of this team. They rock!

Ok, we’re waiting for the team to arrive now - should be in soon and I need to prepare! I’ll try to get more details posted soon and answer the questions!

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Comments

team-admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:24:10 +0000

Ok, I finally figured it out - I can approve the comments that you send and then they will be posted on this team site to the right of the posts.

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They’ve arrived

team-admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:16:10 +0000

This is like being 10 months pregnant waiting for contractions to start!! Teams finally started rolling in about 7:00am…we finlly heard that they indeed were on their bikes and headed our way - they arrived at TA6 at about 9:40am. They are in GREAT shape - Mary has some minor blistering, but other than that, all are healthy and well. After being totally exhausted from some incredible trekking, bushwhacking, and river crossings, they came in and ate and ate and ate. They had been 36 hours without food so food was a number one priority. They cleaned up some gear, changed and cleaned themselves up, and are now sleeping here until 3:00pm and I’ll be pushing them out the door by 4:00pm. They will be biking onto TA7 probably arriving there sometime tonight around midnight. They said the trekking and navigation was very tricky and they finally settled down to sleep so their minds would be fresh for the last nav into TA5. Jason did not sleep as he was the one closest to the door of the tent and was worried about bears attacking him….hmmm, do bears usually use the door of the tent? Do they knock first? (He’s my brother so I can tease him like that). They have reported seeing many, many tracks in the woods - elk and black bear. Apparently there has been another WagBag incident involving all the men on the team. They all “used” at the same time and they decided this was the most hilarious thing ever. Bobby was laughing so hard he choked, gagged, almost vomitted, snorted, and probably tooted. Mary would not join in the pure glee of pooping in a plastic bag that was stuck to your butt. Thank you for keeping your dignity Mary! She is dealing with more than just the trekking, biking, and climbing! I think the boys are looking to start a new company….%&*#bags.com…hmmm could be a great sponsor!

The team members loved the comments that I printed off for them, so keep them coming. Please feel free to ask questions or tell me what you’d like to hear about and I’ll do my best to answer them. I’m currently using some rented wireless hook up from team Brunton (#18) who is parked next to us - works like a charm. I’ll try to save them a spot at the next TA so I can keep all of you updated!

Cheers from TA6 - heading to TA7 late afternoon/early evening!

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